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Sunday, 20 February 2011

When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies. So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn't wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can't cry for someone who has no soul.

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad's ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend's loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can't possibly understand. Kaylee can't let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk.

**Warning: this review might contain spoilers if you haven’t read the first installment**

My Soul to Save is the second installment in the Soul Screams series and it is much much darker than the first book. In a way also much better, because now we know who the characters are the all the awkwardness is out of the way. When I started reading the book, I expected it to follow the set pattern of romance between two characters, but instead there is more of a focus on the mystery and the development of characters than there is on the romance. My Soul to Save is both a character-driven and an action-driven story.

After all the troubles in the first book, Kaylee and Nash expect some quiet time and go to rock at the concert of mega popstar Eden. The tickets were oh-so-thoughtfully provided by *grin* Tod. And he has no ulterior motives at.all!! Kaylee and Nash expect a quiet, nice night out. Instead they get a dead popstar and a not so typical Reaper. As it turns out, Eden sold her soul (sounds familiar, Supernatural fans?) to a hellion/demon for fame and fortune. Now that her time is up, her soul belongs to the hellion. The trouble only starts there. When the Reaper mentions to Kaylee, Nash and Tod that she will be back for the soul of the girl who sings the support program, a friend of Tod, the chase is on. What ensue is a dark story of soul selling, friendship, death and betrayal.

As I mentioned this installment is much darker and the end is a prelude to something that will play a big, huge, enormous role in the third installment. While much darker, I loved the second book better than the first. It continues with the theme “you can be the hero but you can’t save everyone.”

There is also much character development. Kaylee comes more into herself. Not more powerful, but she learns to stand on her own and deal. In a way, she becomes more independent, something that will niggle Nash and his hero complex. She is witty and caring to a fault. “Soulless popstar contemplating suicide. Focus Kaylee.”

Tod, did I mention I loved him, also plays an important role in this book and it’s a set up for the third book. Only you only find that out after you read the third installment. I very much liked that isn’t just a side character, but has a full role. He, like a few other characters aren’t just support cast that are there to play a role. Their characters are interwoven in the story.

What I didn’t like so much was the Supernatural soul-selling rip-off. While selling your soul for something big is a theme that goes back to the time of Shakespeare and Goethe, it was a bit too much like Supernatural. I mean people…are you just that stupid? What part of eternal torture don’t you get? Though unlike Supernatural there is an interesting out and something different when they sold their soul.

All in all this book was better than the first book and that was an already spectacular book. So don’t hesitate to get it!!

Now a message from me, meant to post this yesterday but my memory is very very bad.

You can now get Lori Brighton's The Mind Readers for only 99 cents! :)